Released burglar admits to killing mother

July 09, 1994|By Dennis O'Brien | Dennis O'Brien,Sun Staff Writer

A convicted burglar who was released from prison early so he could spend time with his mother admitted yesterday in Anne Arundel Circuit Court that he bludgeoned her to death with a statue of the Virgin Mary.

He could be sent to prison for up to 30 years when he is sentenced Aug. 29 by Judge Raymond G. Thieme Jr.

Eugene Whissel II, assistant state's attorney, said Turner was convicted of second-degree murder, rather than first-degree murder, because there was no evidence that the early morning killing was premeditated.

Turner, who, in 1992, was serving a two-year sentence for breaking into a Gambrills social club, wrote to Judge Lawrence H. Rushworth twice in September 1992 asking for an early release.

The father of two wrote that with the recent separation from his wife and the death of his father, his mother lived alone and she was "basically all I have left next to my kids," according to court records.

Turner, who according to court records was an alcoholic with a history of cocaine abuse, was released from prison 10 days before the murder. He moved in with his mother and the two argued constantly about money and the use of her car, neighbors said.

Police said Turner called them about 5 a.m. on the day of the murder to report that the house had been burglarized.

Officers found the victim dead on the bedroom floor and Turner covered with scratches and blood, court records show. Police saw no signs of forced entry,

Police said Mrs. Turner had been hit in the head with the religious statue, which was found lying next to her body.

Turner told police that he has been awakened by his mother yelling for help and that when he rushed to her bedroom to help he was knocked unconscious by an assailant he didn't see.